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墨書 Inktalez
At the edge of Dunhuang Crescent Spring, within Leiyin Temple, the disciples of the Buddhist Sect rose early for their routine morning meeting. They gathered in the square in front of the main hall, listening to Haikong deliver a sermon. Some disciples, still groggy from sleep, struggled to stay awake.
The surroundings of Leiyin Temple were barren desert, with very few plants able to survive. Thus, there were no sounds of birds or beasts in the morning. The temple was clean and quiet, making it an excellent place for the sick and injured to recuperate.
Douding and Chang Liulang were not yet formal disciples of Leiyin Temple; they lived there as Outer Sect Disciples. Douding, being a reincarnated Living Buddha, was usually taught personally by the Sky Master. Chang Liulang, however, found himself dozing off whenever he heard Buddhist scriptures. As Douding's senior brother, he often skipped the morning meetings and would sleep until noon.
After completing his morning practice tasks assigned by Master Hai Deng, Douding headed to the Canteen for breakfast. He sat alone at a table, devouring buns when suddenly a Young Monk sat down across from him and placed two eggs into Douding's bowl.
"Shifu Uncle, take your time eating. Why are you here alone for breakfast?" the Young Monk asked kindly.
"I just finished my morning homework. My senior brother is too lazy to join me," Douding replied with a shy smile as he reached for the eggs given by the Young Monk. "Is my senior brother new? I haven't seen him around the temple."
The Young Monk explained, "I'm a new lay disciple assigned to work in the Canteen. I haven't shaved my head yet; my hair is still tied up."
"Oh," Douding responded. "I'm of the same generation as Shan Xiu Shixiong from the Canteen. He's really nice; I'll ask him to look after you more. Thank you for the eggs."
As Douding picked up the eggs to leave, the Young Monk called out to him, "Kind-hearted Shifu Uncle, I wonder if you like fish?"
Upon hearing this question, Douding's eyes sparkled mischievously as he replied, "Leiyin Temple is all about kindness; we aren't allowed to eat meat."
"You don't eat it, and I don't eat it—who else would know?" the Young Monk countered.
Douding licked his lips shyly and said, "You're really nice to me; then I guess I'll have a little."
The Young Monk smiled and said, "Shifu Uncle, don't rush. I need to ask if you dare eat before I can prepare it. When I arrived at Leiyin Temple, I saw a dark pool by Moon Well with quite a few big fish in it. I'll take you there to catch some."
Douding scratched his head and said, "But Square-Faced Uncle won't let me go out."
"Who is Square-Faced Uncle?" the Young Monk asked in surprise.
Douding laughed heartily and replied, "That's our abbot! Don't you think his face is quite square?"
"Yes, it is a bit square," the Young Monk said with an awkward smile. "Let's hurry up and set off before anyone notices we're missing during the morning meeting."
Douding nodded and suddenly said, "I'm a bit thirsty; I'm going to get a bowl of soup."
Douding ran toward the kitchen, but the Young Monk stopped him, saying, "I'll get it. You just wait here for Shifu Uncle; it's greasy inside."
"Alright then. The brothers in the Canteen are probably still sleeping. We need to catch some fish without letting them see us; let's eat secretly," Douding joked.
The Young Monk nodded and walked into the kitchen. He took a spoon from the soup bucket in the Canteen, washed the blood off the spoon in the soup, and filled a bowl before handing it to Douding. At the young man's feet lay several corpses, all with broken necks from a single blow.
Douding took a sip of the soup and quickly put it down. "It's too hot; let's leave it here and drink it when we come back. Come on, let's go!"
The Young Monk nodded and followed Douding out of the Canteen. As they passed by the Disciples' Quarters, Chang Liulang sleepily pushed open the door. Seeing Douding and a monk heading toward the temple exit, he called out to Douding, "Douding, where are you going so early?"
Noticing Chang Liulang was awake, Douding made a shushing gesture and said, "Brother, this brother is a new disciple from the Canteen; he's taking me to catch fish. You should come with us."
"Where would there be fish in the desert?" Chang Liulang asked suspiciously. "Don't you know there are no fish in Moon Well?"
"But this brother has some; he’s been really nice to me and even gave me his eggs," Douding replied. "By the way, what’s your name?"
The Young Monk turned around with an unfriendly look at Chang Liulang. Chang Liulang quickly shielded Douding behind him and said to the Young Monk, "Nangong Lin, what are you doing here?"
Nangong Lin snorted, his monk robes torn apart as his hair fell loose. He said, "Since you've discovered me, you might as well come with me."
Chang Liulang kept Douding behind him and warned, "Nangong Lin, this is Leiyin Temple. If you trespass into the Buddhist Sect and get caught, you'll regret it! I advise you to leave now!"
Nangong Lin looked disdainful and moved lightly forward, pushing Chang Liulang aside effortlessly. With Dao Fire flickering in his hand, Douding stepped in front of Nangong Lin and pleaded, "Don't hurt my brother; I'll go with you!"
"Douding, you can't go with him! Someone help!" Chang Liulang shouted.
Nangong Lin struck Chang Liulang's chest with a palm and grabbed Douding by his collar as he soared into the air, heading toward the temple exit.
At this moment, the meeting at Leiyin Temple had ended, and the disciples returned. Chang Liulang clutched his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A disciple hurriedly helped him up and asked, "Liulang, what happened?"
Chang Liulang replied, "Quickly notify the abbot, Douding has been taken by Nangong Lin of the Serpent Cult!"
Outside Leiyin Temple, amidst the dunes, Nangong Yun saw Nangong Lin rushing towards him with Douding in tow. He laughed heartily, "As expected of my good grandson, bringing me exactly who I wanted!"
"Let me go, you liar!" Douding struggled and shouted.
Nangong Lin snorted and threw Douding to the ground.
Douding got up and glared at Nangong Lin with hatred.
Nangong Yun laughed again, "Living Buddha, it’s good to see you again."
"Who wants to see you, you old villain? What do you want with me this time?" Douding asked.
Nangong Yun said, "Of course, I’m here to help you break your seal. No one but Old Man knows how powerful the Golden Body sealed within you truly is. Staying with these bald donkeys at Leiyin Temple is a waste!"
"Grandpa, it's too close to Leiyin Temple here. Shouldn't we take this kid and leave?" Nangong Lin suggested.
"That makes sense," Nangong Yun agreed. He grabbed Douding and was about to leave.
But at that moment, a voice calling for Buddha echoed from the dunes.
"Amitabha! Nangong, as a Supreme being, isn’t it a bit excessive for you to come to Leiyin Temple to capture a child?" Master Hai Deng looked down from above.
Nangong Yun raised his head to look at Master Hai Deng and said, "Old Man has no intention of being enemies with Leiyin Temple. I won’t take this child's life; I only want the Golden Body within him. Don’t provoke me."
"What a joke! You dare take someone from Leiyin Temple and expect not to be challenged? As an elder of the temple's discipline, how can I allow my disciples to suffer persecution? I can see you're severely injured; the abbot and Three Great Monks have already received my message and will arrive shortly. Do you think being a Supreme makes you invincible?" Master Hai Deng declared.
"Not invincible, but killing you old monk is definitely no problem!" Nangong Yun shouted as he struck out with his palm.
Dune shattered and collapsed. Master Hai Deng retreated into the air, falling amidst the swirling sands. Nangong Yun smirked, and the Shuttle suddenly shot out, transforming into a streak of light aimed at Master Hai Deng. Master Hai Deng spun to evade, but his shoulder was pierced, blood spilling forth as he fell. Yet his expression remained unchanged as he quickly charged toward Nangong Yun.
Nangong Yun withdrew, and the Shuttle flew back, targeting the back of Master Hai Deng's head.
"Master, watch out!" Douding shouted.
Master Hai Deng seemed to have anticipated this; just as the Shuttle was half an inch away from him, he tilted his head to dodge and threw a punch at Nangong Yun.
Nangong Yun waved his sleeve, meeting the punch with his palm, instantly sending Master Hai Deng flying hundreds of feet away. Master Hai Deng was a master of the Mahayana Realm, while Nangong Yun, being in the Tribulation Realm, had a difference that was not merely tenfold. His understanding of Daoist Arts and the depth of his power far surpassed that of any Mahayana Realm expert.
Despite spitting blood, Master Hai Deng's expression remained unchanged. He stood up, chanting a spell as golden light radiated from him. Golden Sutras floated out from his body, and his monk robes billowed without wind.
"Unaware of your own mortality!" Nangong Yun scoffed, completely disregarding Master Hai Deng. He unleashed the Five Poisons True Fire, burning everything in its path.
Master Hai Deng continued to advance, undeterred, surrounded by a layer of golden light. An image of an Ancient Lamp appeared above his head.
"That's one of the Eight Sacred Artifacts—the Buddhist Sect's Eternal Light Lamp!" Nangong Yun recognized it immediately. "Good! The Sun Refining Cauldron, Shuttle, and Everlasting Lamp should all belong to my Serpent Cult!"
With that, Nangong Yun commanded the Shuttle to move around him before it suddenly grew immensely large and charged toward Haideng.
A fierce wind blew as the yellow sand swirled. Master Hai Deng lifted his head, Buddhist power surging around him as he empowered the Everlasting Lamp to resist the incoming Shuttle.
Whoosh—Boom!
The Shuttle flew back, hovering behind Nangong Yun while Master Hai Deng was sent flying away, multiple meridians shattered in his body as he spat blood but still managed to stand up.
"Douding said, 'Master, you should go back; you can't defeat them.'"
Master Hai Deng recited a Buddhist chant: "As Leiyin Temple is the last Buddhist temple, it has the duty to protect Buddha's Incarnation. One day, Buddha's Incarnation will awaken—the Golden Body will shine across the nine provinces and endure forever!"
Nangong Yun snorted and turned to Nangong Dao: "What are you doing standing there? Stop him! I need to break the seal on this child and extract his Golden Body immediately!"
Nangong squinted his eyes and looked at Master Hai Deng, saying, "You are seriously injured and not a match for Old Man. Why not witness the moment when the Golden Body is extracted right here?"
Master Hai Deng gritted his teeth and suddenly charged towards Douding. Nangong snorted and swung a whip of crimson flames, wrapping it around Master Hai Deng's legs and flinging him away. Then, the True Fire of Taiyi ignited on the whip and came crashing down.
Master Hai Deng chanted a spell, and the Light Shadow of the everlasting lamp enveloped him to resist the scorching heat of the true fire. However, the power of the flowing flame whip was unstoppable, and Master Hai Deng was immediately sent flying, rolling into the sand.
In the crowd, Nangong Yun looked at Douding with a fierce expression. Douding stumbled backward and fell to the ground. Nangong Yun placed a palm on Douding's chest, and an overwhelming sealing force burst forth from Douding's body. The sound of several barriers breaking echoed out as Douding screamed in agony, crying out in pain.
Nangong Yun took out the Seven-Colored Relic from his bosom and chuckled, "Just endure a little longer; it will pass. The Seven-Colored Relic can draw out the Zen Bodhisattva within you. Once Old Man possesses this indestructible Buddha form, you'll have made a great contribution!"
"No!" Douding shouted, his voice heart-wrenching as it reached the clouds. A golden Light Shadow was immediately pulled halfway out from his physical body, swaying uncertainly with a look of confusion.
"Douding!" I suddenly yelled, waking up from my bed in a cold sweat.
Outside the farmhouse, Guo Daozhen and others pushed the door open. Jiyao asked, "Hao, how are you feeling? Why are you sweating so much?"
I replied, "Douding is in trouble; we need to save him."
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